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Black Doll White Doll Experiment

Description: The Clark’s most famous psychological experiment was the Black Doll / White Doll Experiment that grew out of Mamie Clark’s master’s thesis. They published three articles about the experiment in 1939 and 1940. In this experiment, school children in Washington, DC and in New York City were shown two dolls that differed only in color: one doll was white with blonde hair, the other doll was brown with black hair. The children were asked a series of questions about which doll was nice, which was mean, and which one they wanted to play with. The results showed a clear preference for the white doll by both white and black students, demonstrating a pervasive level of internalized racism by black children.Show more